Lee Bo-mi celebrates after clinching the KLPGA's KB Kookmin Bank Star Tour title in this Oct. 24, 2010, file photo. The 28-year-old won the Ito En Ladies title in the JLPGA, Sunday. / Yonhap

By Baek Byung-yeul

Korean golfer Lee Bo-mi is on her way to becoming the money leader in the JLPGA for the second straight season, after the 28-year-old clinched the Ito En Ladies title Sunday.

At Chiba, Japan, Lee finished at a 10-under 206 to tie with Ritsuko Ryu of Japan. She grabbed the win after sinking a birdie on the second extra hole. This was Lee's fifth win of the season and 20th win in her JLPGA career.

With the win, Lee extended her lead in the JLPGA money list over fellow Korean golfer Shin Ji-yai, who shared fourth place finishing at an 8-under 208. As of Sunday, Lee sits atop the money list with 173 million yen ($1.6 million), followed by Shin with 136 million yen.

Lee began competing in Japan in the 2011 season and has established herself as one of the best players of the tour, winning 20 events.

Her breakthrough came last season as Lee, who had won eight events in the previous seasons, claimed seven titles to finish on top of the money list with 230.4 million yen.

With the 20th career win, Lee also received more pleasant news from her country. The KLPGA announced Monday it will grant a permanent seed to Lee as she fulfilled the required minimum 20 wins from among the KLPGA, U.S. LPGA, JLPGA and the Ladies European Tour.

A golf expert said Lee was able to succeed in Japan as she keeps her club shaft as parallel to the ground as possible to hit the ball hard all the time.

"Her swing features a flattening of her swing plane as she starts down. She keeps the club shaft as parallel to the ground as possible and below her shoulders as she goes through the ball. That helps her purge her game of pulls and slices, allowing her to hit the ball great all the time," said Korea Times golf columnist Kim Jeong-kyoo.

The columnist also compared Lee's swing with that of Park Sung-hyun, who has been displaying her dominance in the KLPGA this season.

"While Lee tries to keep her club shaft parallel to the ground, Park plays in more aggressive fashion, swinging her club in an uppercut-delivering motion," Kim said. "I cannot tell which one is better, but the two are great examples of maximizing the power and accuracy of the golf swing."

It remains to be seen whether Lee can receive more than 200 million yen in prize money for the second consecutive season, as she has two more events -- the Daio Paper Elleair Ladies Open and the Japan LPGA Tour Championship Rico Cup -- left this season.